They damn sure didn’t help the black farmers get their money, they damn sure didn’t get black people health insurance, and they damn sure didn’t help our black gay brothers and sisters from getting kicked out of the military.

So where the hell were they?

I’ll tell you where they were, they were at each other’s schools sitting on some fucking panel theorizing about how to end racism or make it better for African Americans.

But do you know where President Obama was?

He was out in the streets registering people to vote, he was condemning an unjust war before it became fashionable to do so.

We got pictures of Barack Obama fresh out of college walking in poor black neighborhoods registering people to vote.

We got pictures of a young Barack Obama helping black folk.

We got pictures of a young Barack Obama sitting in a village in Kenya breaking bread with his grandmother.

And these same motherfuckers want to question his blackness

****

Barack Obama in Chicago, 1995, photo by Marc PoKempner

Illinois State Senator Barack Obama at a community meeting in his district with his state representative (second from right) House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie

Barack Obama in his first year at Harvard Law School after working at Developing Communities Project as a community organizer from 1985 – 1988 where he set up a tenants rights organization, job training program, and college preparatory program. He enrolled at Harvard Law School in the fall of 1988 so as to better help his community

This photo released by Obama for America shows Barack Obama teaching at the University of Chicago Law School. After Harvard Law School, Obama returned to Chicago, joined a small civil rights firm, ran a voter registration drive, and lectured on constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School

Barack Obama with his grandmother Sarah Hussein Obama in her home in the village of Nyagoma-Kogelo, western Kenya, 1987

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BEAR CREEK, Penn. (WNEP) – A life-size statue of President Obama usually sits on Tiffany Bruce’s front porch. “That statue was actually $1,249,” Bruce said. It’s become a staple in the neighborhood but recently went missing from its usual spot. “I peeked my head out the door and Obama’s gone and I kind of went into a panic. I couldn’t breathe, and I had to go to the hospital,” said Bruce.

Fortunately, the Obama statue was discovered and it seems it just went for a little bit of a joyride. The missing decoration was found at the Francis E. Walter Dam, sitting on a bench and holding a beer. 😎

“Have you ever wondered what it would be like to go through training as an ISIS terrorist? Or better yet, where you would go to find such advanced training? All you have to do to find the answer to these questions is turn to the nearest ISIS media twitter account and click on that bright blue Justpaste.it link. Let’s take a look at the photos posted in July showing one of the Islamic State’s training camps in Ninewa Province and see what we can learn….

…If we examine the ISIS class of 2014 martial arts lesson, road march, and graduation photo, we can see several bridges in the background spanning over a large river. After doing just a little bit of research we find this general area in Google Earth along Tigris River in Mosul that looks like it could be a fit based on the land marks available in the images.

…In this graduation photograph we can see one of the bridges with a large building visible in the background, with the photograph taken on a tree lined road. In this case it was necessary to use the site Flash Earth with its more up to date imagery to find the building, which appears to have only been recently constructed…continued

Thanks for this post. I emailed MED at his Georgetown address and politely said the same thing to him. Told him to go to Ferguson to register voters, follow in the footsteps of the unknown Barack Obama who did this in Chicago, told him then he might have some credibility and authority.

NW – Was just looking to see who had already sent this post to Michael Dyson, so I’m not surprised to see you did! Don’s words were TRUTH and your additions of the photos should help describe “what’s going on” to Michael, since apparently he must be a visual learner.

Before coming here, I tuned in to CNN for a few minutes. Host was mentioning that the President has asked for a review of the federal program to sell pieces of military weapons excess inventory to police departments. CNN host accidentally said – and I’m not kidding – “like in Ferguztan.” He tried to correct himself and repeated the error. Dumbass.

Before that, he had on two white legal analysts to discuss the grand jury fairness, etc. Uh huh.

And before that, I noticed CNN’s graphic on the demographic makeup of the Ferguztan grand jury was separated out in numbers with “Caucasians” and “African Americans.” How clevah. How trendy. How to trip yourself up when you’re not exactly politically correct, back in the production room, but pretending to be sensitive because we’re all supposed to be visual learners and would want to see your enlightenment graphically displayed. Maybe “Caucasians” – the rock stars formerly known as “whites” in this country – should ask to be called Caucasian Americans, because although the contrasting “African” isn’t a racial group per se, somehow they’re acknowledged on our teevee screens as being Americans, so CNN’s graphic doesn’t look so … what’s the word … dumbass.

I had been on the ground helping Al Jazeera America cover the protests and unrest in Ferguson, Mo., since this all started last week. After what I saw last night, I will not be returning. The behavior and number of journalists there is so appalling, that I cannot in good conscience continue to be a part of the spectacle.

Things I’ve seen:

-Cameramen yelling at residents in public meetings for standing in way of their cameras
-Cameramen yelling at community leaders for stepping away from podium microphones to better talk to residents
-TV crews making small talk and laughing at the spot where Mike Brown was killed, as residents prayed, mourned
-A TV crew of a to-be-left-unnamed major cable network taking pieces out of a Ferguson business retaining wall to weigh down their tent
-Another major TV network renting out a gated parking lot for their one camera, not letting people in. Safely reporting the news on the other side of a tall fence.

OT, but all of Chgo is watching its team play in the U.S. final Little League World Series game—–we got ourselves a game—-3-3 tie currently—–playing Las Vegas, the favorite who handed them their only loss. But for now—-game on.

All of this! PBO has always been the man who was in the midst fighting the good fight and getting shit done. So tired of all of the professional talkers who stand on the sidelines doing nothing but citicizing, making money and puffing themselves up. Thanks Don, for your commentary and to NW for featuring it with the illustrating photos. The mic has been dropped and Dyson and the other self-hating mofos need to STFU.

Thank you Don & NW for this wonderful post. What had always bothered me about the Bullshyte flying around, where were these people all these years that have not done 1/4 of what this POTUS has accomplished since going to college. Sometimes I just want to put a so k in the mouths of these people. Including the Black Caucus on congress. But then this election season right? It’s to beat us all down so we won’t vote. Too bad I voted in the primaries & I will vote in the general & start donating directly to candidates I want to see in office. Enough of my rant. Love all of you here at TOD. ((((((Hugs)))))

Thank you very, very much Don for your post. I challenge anyone to find any images of MED registering anyone to vote. Of course we will find Dyson appearing on Tavis Smiley”s defunct “State of the Union” and numerous other panels, screaming and throwing out words which no one understands except himself.

Nerdy, I posted a note a few days ago – you and Chips are simply too quick for me – thanking you for all the work you do. Hope you saw it.

Lurk mostly, post rarely given other pressing demands. Again, thanks much to you and Chips for your selflessness in this cause.

As I mentioned in my very first post here I’ve followed Barack Hussein Obama since the Fall of 2003. To your point about doing the hard yet necessary work when no one is paying attention, or bothered, I pointed out that Barack Hussein Obama was and has always been in the trenches, and cited his work campaigning all over the country for fellow Democrats in 2005-2006, many of whom he barely knew at the time.

But of course that would simply be asking too much of our theoreticians to accept or stomach. How sad and wasted an emotion envy is.

Beautiful, evocative photos that show such a depth of community and context.

NW, you’ve outdone yourself on the selection of photos. Glad you tweeted to Dyson — it escapes me why someone in a position to be a role model and mentor to the young men in the “My Brother’s Keeper” initiative doesn’t seize that opportunity (which would inflate his ego but also be productive) instead of finding fault with America’s First Black President. So glad you sent this to Dyson — I hope he feels about one foot tall now.

Don, thank you for reminding these “blacker-than-thou” pundits that they haven’t a leg to stand on. You don’t hear people from the Irish-American community making loud noises about how Joe Biden didn’t do this or that — they love Joe and his family and have a soft spot in their heart for Mother Finnegan-Biden.

Black pundits cannot be blind to the bigotry so recently exposed in Ferguson, or to the unreasoning hatred many GOP voters have toward President Obama — why do they want to undermine PBO — who has faced nothing but obstacles during his Presidency?

“Black pundits cannot be blind to the bigotry so recently exposed in Ferguson, or to the unreasoning hatred many GOP voters have toward President Obama — why do they want to undermine PBO — who has faced nothing but obstacles during his Presidency?”

Because he is the First Black US President and he has shown more courage and grace, while making monumental advances to the benefit of All Americans – and they look in the mirror and know they will never come close to such achievements. At that moment their egos flame out …

Because for a very long time, black folks as a collective have suffered from “crabs in the barrel” mentality. It’s in our communities and in our families- not all, but a very uncomfortable number. It’s a holdover from slavery and it is a sad truth.

This is something I’ve never heard before, having lived mostly in suburbs in the southwestern most tip of the US all my life (SoCal).

I wonder why the Black pundits and elected officials who must be familiar with this term don’t discuss it to educate the majority of Americans who are unaware of this phenomenon.

Black male pundits should speak to this while they are serving as mentors and contributors to the My Brother’s Keeper project — which should be as common in every community as the Big Brothers program is now.

“which should be as common in every community as the Big Brothers program is now.”

Thanks for this. I believe that “when” PBO takes it more nationally after his departure from the WH, others will adopt it but sadly try to take credit for initializing it. Yes, black folks know about the crabs- even joke about it. Seriously, it is almost as ingrained as white racism is in others. There have been talks and roundtable discussions, and yada yada yada, but it remains for the most part pervasive. What is needed is acceptance education of original African culture to stem the tide. When one emulates an oppressive system, one cannot feel it has anything better to offer. This is not to say we should not identify with American culture, if so chosen.

Don and Nerdy, thank you both so much for such a satisfying blog chapter. Outstanding!

I hope everyone reads and savors Don’s words because they seem like absolute unvarnished wisdom to me.
And Nerdy, you have illustrated Don’s points with grace and clarity. In pictures i have enjoyed before I see them in a new way in this context.

Look at the one with PBO teaching at the board at the Chicago Law School. Note the lesson he is presenting as well as his jaw-dropping physical beauty.
MED is taking on This guy??? hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

That is so great, yardarm. So proud of the beautiful young youth who showed us how to get a job done well. My heart is filled with so much joy for them and the city. Great accomplishment by some future leaders of hard work. Such a lift me up of goodness.HZ

I didn’t watch much news coverage today, but I noticed now that we’re nearing evening, HLN has on Forensic Files, MSNBC has diverted to Caught on Camera, and CNN was referring to Ferguson in the last hour as “Ferguztan,” accidentally, of course. Of course.

My problem with all the blackademics is; With 50yrs+ of all that AA Studies, still wondering, what exactly have they accomplished? PBO has the data stats…and putting them to use…”Them” lots of hot air, based in what happened in Ferguson and the entire country…we’re still fighting same battles…I heard of “educated fools” but damn..

Yay! Chgo’s team won the U.S. Little League championship game! Awesome game! So well played. Both teams kept coming back—–exciting! Chicago wins! All the watch parties are going wild! Will play S. Korea tomorrow for the world championship. Parade this week in Chgo, no matter what. Fun—-so happy for those young boys. They are thrilled!

So in agreement with Don. I’ve always said that the reasons these so called academics, leaders, caucuses, etc. are always criticizing the President is because he’s exposed them for what they HAVEN’T done all these years. They absolutely deserve every bit of push-back they’re receiving, firstly for the lack of REAL commitment on their parts. Bought off and complacent. And secondly, because they think we’re too stupid to engage them and call out their bullshit. With all due respect to the John Lewises and yes, the Al Sharptons of the country who talk the talk and walk the walk.

The whinners like MED are only used to people talking loud and saying nothing…. he’s not used to seeing a Black man doing something because we know PBO is going to make things right as far as justice but people like Mike need to go to MO to show support and stop putting down this president.

Have you seen the footage of 14 story apartment building collapsing under Israeli bombardment?

If you are a politician and you are “Standing With Israel” what you are is a Neo-con. (D) and (R) are meaningless distinctions here.
If you are a Neo-Con I get why the single most important thing in your universe is sabotage of Democrats in 2014.

This deadly connection between MIC $$$$$ + MSM + GOP + Emoprogs + DLC + US Banks + armed militias AKA/police departments, on and on describes the current onslaughts against a real and present threat to the status quo named PBO.

Thank you soooo much Nerdy and Don. This is a much needed rebuttal to Dr. Dyson. I heard MED on The Ed Show and MHP and other places and couldn’t believe his BS. He was a surrogate for PBO. When he acted as a surrogate didn’t he feel the importance of acting for the President. Didn’t the role carry some weight. Didn’t the top law enforcer act as his surrogate in a situation which called for that specific skill in Ferguson? Hope Dr. Dyson directs his negative energy towards the police officer who killed a young boy and get his ass to the ground and work to help the young people. This is a long term project that won’t be solved by flying the President for a couple of hours.

Thank you so much Don for speaking words of truth about these damn “Blackagimmicks.” And a million thanks to Nerdy Wonka for front-paging Don’s comments and posting the excellent tweet responses from yourself and Only4RM to Blackagimmick-in-Chief Mike Dyson.

But for many Missourians, as well as Americans watching from afar, this form of expression is also policed. As many as 4.4 million American citizens live, work, and raise families in our communities, but because of a conviction in their past are still denied the right to vote. Nationwide, state felony disenfranchisement laws are firmly rooted in the Jim Crow era. Many criminal disenfranchisement laws were enacted alongside poll taxes and literacy tests to keep African Americans from voting. The intended effects of these laws continue to this day: an estimated 3 in 10 African American males will lose voting rights in their lifetime.

Thank you Nerdy Wonka for this excellent post and for all your tweets to “blackademic,” MED. And, thank you Don for speaking TRUTH! My grandmother, may she RIP, always taught us to watch what people do and not just what they say because, as she always reminded us, “talk is cheap.” Although she strongly believed in education she also constantly taught us not become “educated fools,” who lose basic common sense. It seems to me that all these “blackademics,” who think President Obama should have immediately gone to Ferguson Missouri, in the midst of a criminal investigation that involves the Justice Department, which is part of the Executive branch of government that he heads, have totally lost all semblances of common sense. They are turning out to be exactly the people my grandma warned us about: “Educated Fools.”

Yes she was, Bob! Although she only finished 7th grade, she was a very keen observer of human nature. She especially disliked loudmouths people who talked a good game, but had absolutely nothing to show to back up their talk.

Ha. I’m not as wise as my grandmother, of course, although some of her advice rolls around in my head, still. Truthfully, I never heard her say a negative thing about ANYBODY, so I’ve failed that test in the Age of Obama big time ~ but since she was a good Democrat and the wife of a unionized coal miner, I think she’d understand!

Fantastic post by NW – telling truth to those who try to compare Ferguson to any event where a President did/did not visit those impacted by the event.

The pundits consider ANYTHING that happens anywhere in the US requires this President to be seen running the aftermath. Not even with Roosevelt in WWII was that type of expectation invoked.

The President is treated exactly the same way as any other black person in the US – he has to work twice as hard, twice as long and still will never be accepted for his achievements. Obviously parents have to give “the talk” to any of their black children who want to be President of the USA.

You guys should follow the link – the artist has a really touching print which seems intended to be her contribution towards the Mike Brown Jr. Memorial Fund

//…………………………….

Engelbreit responded to critics, standing by the print as a statement on the “ugly, hard truth of racial profiling,” adding:

I also thought about disabling the comments today and just let those that wanted to buy the print do so. But then I thought, Well, I posted it—I should see this through to the bitter end. However, today, if anyone uses words like “thug” or “animal” or any other derogatory words to describe their fellow human beings, their comment will be deleted. That’s not free speech, that’s hate speech, and you can go pedal your hatred and bigotry on someone else’s Facebook page.

We can only hope that all the people who said that they were going to unfollow me have done so, and maybe today we can have a more civilized stream of comments.

Thank you Chips for this beautiful space. Thank you Don for your absolute truth. Thank you Nerdy W. for this beautiful tribute of photos that also speaks volumes to who our president is for all of humanity. And Michael Eric Dyson does not know President Barack H. Obama. If he did, he would not be acting like a fool who know Not what he is talking about when it comes to what PBO is doing has done, and will continue to do. People who Really know President Barack Obama do not spew foolishness like this because those people Really Do Know PBO.

I have said my say on the MED on twitter when he went off on our president. In fact, I allowed his words and my interactions to send me to bed for two days. No fool , and I do mean fool is worth sending me to bed for two days and causing me to put my well-being into jeopardy. And I further want to say that we did not elect a “bully” nor did we elect a person who stands in a pulpit, BUT we sure as hell elected a hell of a brilliant hard working President of the United States, and that is President Barack H. Obama. So get over it, Dr. Michael Eric Dyson. HZ

Oh, the shirt color: Berry Cool. Take that to the bank. And the gentleman wearing it, is looking mighty fine also. I will take both the Berry Cool and my President, Barack H. Obama. We love you, Mr. President, and keep playing all the golf your heart desires. And we love you for walking in truth with compassion, a caring spirit, a loving heart, and with a brilliant mind as you work so hard for the American people and the people of the world. You show us daily how grace and dignity work hand in hand. And we have our hands of loving care and hard work with you at your back. HZ

Thank you so much Don…for putting thoughts to written words! People like Dyson should be ashamed of himself. What has he done for the black community?? So happy that our Twitter Brigade on on his case! Well done!